1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novel cationic surfactants which are prepared by copolymerization of acrylamide with a quaternary ammonium monomer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cationic monomers of the acrylamide or methacrylamide type are known. Specifically, preparation of the monomer starting material of the present invention is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,820 Hotchkiss et. al. Water soluble surface active copolymers containing acrylamide and N-butyl acrylamide are also known in the art and of particular interest are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,098,987 and 4,171,418 both Barua et al.
Acrylamide copolymers in the prior art have found use in liquid detergents and in secondary oil recovery processes where surface activity and high viscosity are required. Use of acrylamide copolymers of this type has been limited because of the water insolubility of all but the lower molecular weight copolymers.
It is the objective of the present invention to prepare a new class of surfactant copolymers composed of acrylamide and cationic surface active monomers which are water soluble and surface active at molecular weights greater than 10,000.